Is Halloween the official holiday for Alliumphobia? Actually, there is no seasonal restriction on Alliumphobia but it stands to reason that when monster costumes are on display in the stores that legends surrounding them come forward. Most people know that garlic is supposed to stop vampires and werewolves cold in their tracks, right? Would you be surprised to learn that creatures of the night are not the only ones that are affected in adverse ways by exposure to garlic? I'm sure that by now your curiosity has been peaked and that you are dying to know what the weird phobia of Alliumphobia is all about and what does it have to do with scary monsters.

WHAT IS ALLIUMPHOBIA?

Alliumphobia is the fear of garlic. As far fetched as it may seem, there are people who are afraid of garlic. It seems there is a phobia for everything these days and the symptoms for this one are pretty much the same as the symptoms for any other phobia. If you suffer from Alliumphobia you might experience the same feelings of nausea, dizziness and fears of dying as those who have a fear of flying.

WHERE DOES ALLIUMPHOBIA COME FROM?

While an unnatural fear of flying might be rooted in a person's previous unpleasant experiences in an aircraft, I doubt that anybody has lost a loved one due to overexposure to garlic cloves. So, if Alliumphobia can't be traced back to a loved one's death being caused by exposure to garlic, what's would cause people to suffer a fear of it? We can only accept that what may be commonplace and boring to one person may be horrifying to another.

WHAT DOES ALLIUMPHOBIA DO TO YOU?

Your body may react to fear in any number of negative ways as we know. When exposed to garlic, the alliumphobic may begin to perspire profusely, become dizzy and disoriented. Unless you suffer some kind of food allergy to garlic, we believe that garlic itself is not dangerous, in fact most scientists view it as holding many health benefits. It's the fear that comes from being exposed to garlic that is dangerous to people suffering from this particular phobia. Many believe that the possible cause of strange and unusual phobias is a disruption of the energy system within the human body.

WHO SUFFERS FROM ALLIUMPHOBIA?

I don't know any alliumphobics, but when I read about it I couldn't help but wonder if some poor person suffering from it had been mobbed by superstitious villagers in ancient times. Imagine what magical powers garlic was considered to hold by those good citizens of long ago if the simple act of waving it in somebody's face sent them into spasms of fear. Modern education has not eliminated this reaction in many people. While I don't have the actual numbers on hand, it's said that there are still many people that currently suffer from the phobia of Alliumphobia.

IS THERE A CURE for ALLIUMPHOBIA?

Alliumphobia is treated the same as any other phobia or unreasonable fear. Doesn't it seem that every doctor or therapist has come up with the cure to beat all cures when it comes to fears and how to face them? In fact, I think that is a popular method for treatment at this time; facing your fears. So are we to think that the best cure for alliumphobia would be to eat more spaghetti, pizza or would it be more efficient to hang a necklace of garlic bulbs around the neck?